7.5 Ways to Succeed on oDesk

Share this:

Hello there Real Ways to Earn Money Online Fans. My name is Jess and I will be your travel guide today. The purpose of our tour today is to explore oDesk. This tour will reveal 7.5 things to help make you successful on oDesk. There may be a lot of rumors out there about old faithful, but I am going to teach you the ropes, so you can start raking in the dough.

1. Sign up.

I hear a lot of people say that they don’t want to sign up for oDesk because it’s not a good place. This is one of those things that you really never know until you try it. I feel like if you sign up and it’s not a good place for you, then you have the right to give others advice.

2. Put up a professional picture.

oDesk is the largest freelance job board, so there are a lot of different businesses coming and going. Anyone can click on your profile and see what is going on, so I would recommend making your profile picture as professional as possible.

3. Complete your work history.

Some people are not inclined to list their complete work history, but why not? Just because you are working online it doesn’t mean people do not want to know your complete work history. I feel as though some people do not take online jobs seriously. I will say that your potential clients will only take you as seriously as you take yourself.

4. Update your profile often.

Something I realized is that I had not updated my oDesk profile in a while. I went back through and added my new skills to my profile. Also, make sure you edit your wording because you don’t want to look unprofessional by one simple spelling mistake.

5. Read the wording carefully.

If there is one thing I have noticed on oDesk, it is that clients like to word things funny. Sometimes I just skim, but other times I have to open each job description to see what is being said. Just be really careful in what you read because it may not all be true. With that being said, sometimes it’s best to just apply for a position. There have been several lucrative positions I’ve gained because I just applied. The client may not be good at communicating what they want or need. That’s where our jobs come in.

6. Don’t ignore the job invitations.

Sometimes I just ignore the job invitations because they annoy me. Well, I almost lost a good client because of this mistake. One of my friends got hired on and the more I thought about it, there was an invitation sitting there. Low and behold, I applied and landed a well paying gig that was given to me by invitation.

7. Don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with.

Sometimes, us work at home moms get a little desperate for cash, and we agree to something we don’t really agree with. Be wise with the work you choose to do. If you accept a really low paying gig (like $1 per hour), then you are missing out on well paying opportunities out there.

7.5 Check back often.

I find myself checking oDesk at least once a day. If you ever look at those job descriptions, then you know there are hundreds of jobs posted each day and each hour. If hundreds of people are applying, then you’re going to miss out if you do not check back frequently.

There you have it, my tips for success on oDesk. If someone like me can land multiple jobs on oDesk, then so can you. Who knows…maybe we’ll end up bidding on the same job?

About Jess

Jess Weaver is a work at home mom and wife. She's been married to Ryan for nearly 7 blissful years. She has three adorable and rowdy sons. Benjamin- 5, Isaac- 3, and Josiah -1. If you would like to contact Jess you can do so by clicking the contact me button on her website www.jessleewrites.com

You said it all jess. I have been working on oDesk for quite a while now and the trick is just to be as professional as possible, and when you land a job remember to be as impressive to the client as possible. Who knows, the client may be having another project to give you after that one ends.

You have to be really careful on oDesk, because there ARE fake jobs posted on the site. I recently fell victim to an extremely well-thought-out scam that resulted in my bank account being overdrawn by almost $2,500…

If you receive an email on oDesk (in response to an application) instructing you to create a Yahoo! Messenger account to have an online interview with someone before 10:00am the following morning, do NOT fall for it! After the interview they will hire you and claim to work for 1link Automotive Company (or at least that’s what they claimed with me) and will email you a list of home office supplies that you will need to purchase by using funds provided by ‘the company’. They will then tell you to have the checks deposited via your bank’s ATM, withdraw the funds when they become available, and send MoneyGrams to different ‘vendors’ so that they can mail the necessary items to you. Needless to say, I have yet to receive any items…

I just finished an IM interview. I received an email last night from someone named James Andrew. This is the email:

Dear Applicant,
Your resume has been reviewed by our HR Department for the position
and we believe you are capable of handling this position based on your
resume. Your details has been forwarded to Lisa Branham (Hiring
Manager). She would be conducting an online interview with you to
discuss the Job Details, Pay Scale and Benefits, etc.

You are to set up a screen name with yahoo instant messenger at
(www.messenger.yahoo.com) and add up the company’s Hiring Manager
yahoo screen name (hirindpt101@yahoo.com) and instant message her for
the online interview/briefing exercise.

The schedule time for the interview/briefing exercise is Friday, 19th
July 2013 by 10am your time zone, you are to be on yahoo messenger at
this time for the interview, your swift and timely response matters a
lot to this position as the job starts ASAP. I wish you best of luck.

Regards
Human Resource.

—-
This “interview” was conducted under the name Office Team. As the interview continued, I started questioning why Office Team would be conducting an interview via IM. They are a reputable company and I’m almost certain that they would never do an IM interview — not even a phone interview.

I was told that I would be working for 1link Automotive Company and the company would be sending me a check to cover the cost of the data entry and accounting software that I would need. Mind you, I was never asked if I already had the necessary software or even if I had regular access to a computer.

I was told to take the check (no amount was given) to my bank, deposit it, and then withdraw the funds (that doesn’t smell right). I was also told to use $120 to get an Imei time tracker. I asked the interviewer where I would get this and was told it’s available at any office supply store (I checked Staples website and it’s not there). When I googled it, I found that it’s available to download for free. I was told to use $120 for petty cash.

I was also told to report in by 9 am (my time) every morning via yahoo IM for updates and more information about my job duties. Hmm… It was never said what “their time” is. What if I want to report in at 5 am (my time)? Who hires a person sight unseen for a job that allegedly pays $20.13/hr? Why wouldn’t the company just send the software instead of a check?

I’ll probably do the IM thing tomorrow because I’m really curious. I want to see what this check looks like. If they send it, I’m definitely not depositing it in my bank.

Do NOT do this! This is a scam. One of my readers was telling me about an identical scam on oDesk just a few weeks ago. They will ask you to deposit the check and then wire them part of the money, then they will disappear off the face of the earth and you’ll get in BIG trouble for depositing/cashing a fraudulent check. Please do NOT bother with this one!

Not to be rude but who would actually fall for this? With so much written, yet such vague info..like “their time”, “your time”, what have you.. Plus so much emphasis on depositing checks (who would actually go and deposit a random check??).. When I read how many people fall for these scams.. well it’s comical and quite sad that people don’t seem to know any better. Take the time to do your research. Google is your friend.